Eighth graders put their knowledge of rocks and minerals into perspective by seeing how minerals can be mined and the difficulties and costs of mining. They explore the environmental impacts of mining.

Students are able to list the types of household waste that they produce daily. They are able to describe some other types of waste that are produced by industry or agriculture to help maintain their lifestyles. Students are able to...

Learners create a model estuary. In this modeling estuaries instructional activity, students identify characteristics and mix water of varying densities. Learners form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, and analyze the results.

Students explore geography by answering study questions in class. In this plate tectonics lesson, students identify the earthquake data concerning the country of New Zealand and answer questions regarding the data. Students identify...

Fourth graders improvise music and dance to express their analysis of types of rocks. They discuss the three classes of rocks, list describing words, and create a short musical piece and dance to symbolize the rock they are dancing.

Have your class learn about turtles and adaptation using this lesson. Learners discuss turtles, the unique design of their shells, and the ways they have adapted to their surroundings. Then, they make a paper bag model to simulate a...

Students learn about the kinds of fossils and what scientists can learn from them.  In this earth science lesson, students are told how engineers and paleontologists work together.  Then students create a "fossil fondue" and...

Students identify and describe the aquatic exotic species found in Illinois. Using the internet, they research the species origins and discover their effects on native species in the area. They discuss how appropriate it is to introduce...

Students examine the difference between magnitude and intensity in earthquakes. They complete map work and write a first hand account of a person living in each level of intensity on the Modified Mercalli Scale.

Seventh graders examine the job of meteorologists. They decide which characteristics of the atmosphere that meteorologists focus on. They use local weather maps from newspapers to predict weather in their area.

In this mollusk and segmented worm learning exercise, students will review 7 vocabulary words associated with these groups of organisms by completing a crossword puzzle.

Students interview the senior citizens in their community. While interviewing them, they identify perceptions they have about the local climate. Using the internet, the compare the results of the interview to those of public thirty...

Students conduct a brainstorming exercise that asks them to list all the ideas about air pollution that can be recalled. The ideas are recorded on a chart that the teacher has prepared. The activity contains sufficient background...

Students, through teacher lecture and class discussion, explore the three different types of muscles in the human body and the effects of microgravity on these muscles. They explain what happens to muscles in outer space and describe the...

Students are divided into a group of hormones and a group of receptors. The hormones have to find their matching receptors, and the pair, once matched, perform a given action. This activity helps students examine the specificity of...

Students compare and contrast snakes and turtles, then fill out an information sheet.

Eighth graders compare and contrast the three different types of rock. In this earth science instructional activity, 8th graders classify rock samples according to their correct rock type. They design their own data collection table.

Eighth graders identify the factors that contribute to global warming. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders evaluate the impact of global warming on the planet. They discuss their views within the group.

Young scholars complete activities to study volcanic activities. In this volcanic activities lesson, students read an article about violent volcanoes. Young scholars complete discuss questions and volcano projects for the lesson....

Eighth graders measure temperature, wind speed and pressure using Skymaster SM-28. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders collect data and record observations taken from outdoors. They explain why numerical values are different in...

Eighth graders identify the different weather elements. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders explain the difference between relative humidity and dew point. They discuss the different instruments used to predict weather.

Students discuss the threats facing migratory species and track the seasonal journeys of wildlife in real space and in cyberspace. Once they have gathered information from several sources, they create a portfolio to share with others...

Students investigate the concept of a watershed. They conduct research into the concept using a variety of resources. Students take a field trip to a local watershed to make observations. The outcome is a report concerning the outside...

Students identify and separate the different zones of the beach by observation. They investigate beach zonation by gathering and comparing sand samples gathered from different areas of the beach.